Fargo Race Review

Hello!  How's your Thursday going? 

Anyone else feel like this has been the loooongest week?

 

my thoughts exactly...all week

 

 

Ok, so I said I would be back with a race review.  Not a ton of new stuff to report since last year, but since the start and finish were different I've got a few thoughts.  So there were two main differences this year, and it was the facT that all the races (with the exception of the 5k, which was the evening before), all started at the same time.  Also, the fact that the start the end location were moved from the Fargo Dome to downtown Fargo.

 

But let me start at the beginning.  We took the shuttles to the athlete village/bag drop.  Getting to the shuttle was easy peasy, but our poor bus driver didn't really know where he was going, and ended up dropping off the marathon runners at the wrong spot, so we had to turn around.  He had a good sense of humor about it, but I could tell some people were annoyed.  I think the change in location left a lot of people confused about where they were supposed to go and the signage for everything wasn't the greatest.

Getting to the bag drop and start was pretty easy though.  I was thinking that because everyone was starting at the same time that it would be really congested, but it actually wasn't too bad, and we were able to line up pretty easily.

The course this year was great.  A few more "hills" than last year, but honestly, it's Fargo, when I say "hills" they are basically just bumps in the road :)  I loved starting on the bridge with everyone and finishing right in downtown.  The crowd support again was great this year.  Bands pretty much every mile, and SO many entertaining signs and people.  I think my favorite was an old man dancing on a piece of cardboard to Blurred Lines - the best.

The water/sports drink/GU stations got a little congested towards the end, but nothing too bad.  Part of me wished that those who chose to walk through the water stops would stay to the sides - I almost ran smack into someone, but really, it wasn't horrible.

The one thing that bummed me out was that they advertised that there would be a jumbo screen at the finish so you could see yourself run in (just like last year), but when I turned the corner to the finish, there was nothing.  The screen wasn't until you came through and got your medal.  Now, I'm not that vain (wait....yes I am), that I need to see myself on the big screen, but it was SO COOL last year that I was excited for it.  So really, that was my only thumbs-down about the race.

So it's super obvious that Fargo holds a special place in my heart, and while I really liked how they moved the race back to downtown for the 10th anniversary, there is just something about running into the dome, with tons of people cheering, that just cant be beat.  So I'm hoping they move it back there next year.

So if you made it to the end of this, congrats, sorry I'm so boring, and before this gets any longer here are my official results....

 

 

And now,  commence the 3 week freak out until MPLS...

 

Fargo Half Marathon weekend!

Hey guys happy Monday! 

I'm going to get right to it since I have LOTS to talk about!  Also, just a warning,this may get long and there will be lots of pics :)

 

 

packed the essentials...obviously

 As you know I spent my weekend in Fargo for the half marathon. We left Friday afternoon and picked up Emily on our way. With our car loaded up we made the 4 hour trip to Fargo.

on the car ride up!

We headed straight to the expo when we got there to pick up our packets and shirts and also meet up with some friends of Emily's who were also running the half/full marathon.

 After the expo and meeting up with friends, we checked into our hotel and got ready to head to dinner.  I made reservations for our group at an Italian place.  I figured with a group of hungry runners, pasta and pizza would be the best choice.   We hung out at the restaurant for a while then all headed back to our hotels to try and get some rest.

Our alarms went off at about 5:15 that morning, and we got up, had some breakfast (2 mini bagels and a banana for me), and made our way to the shuttle buses.

on the bus

met up with some of the group before heading to the start

on the bridge, ready to go!

Since this year was the 10th anniversary of the marathon the route was different so we could end in downtown Fargo instead of the Fargo Dome like last year.  This was pretty cool because we got to run right now the main street of downtown and it was absolutely packed with people. 

Emily really wanted to get close to a 2 hour time, so we made a plan to start out at a 9:30 pace and work out way down from there.  We started out and felt great.  We were easily keeping a 9:15-9:20 pace for the first 8 miles, and the miles seemed to just fly by.  I'll get to the detail of the race in my race review post, but again, crowd support was SO great, which helped the time go by really fast.  

At about mile 8ish we met back up with Emily's friend Angela who joined us for the rest of the race.  Ang and myself are pretty similar pace-wise, and knowing Jake and Em were running well together, we decided to pick up the pace.  I was still feeling super comfortable and Ang was looking great so we gradually took the pace down to about 8:20's and kept speeding up from there.  My legs felt great for the race.  No shin or ankle issues at all, and it finally felt like a nice and easy long run.  It helped that the weather was pretty perfect too.  I ended up with a 1:56:30 (Garmin time), and Ang came in with a 1:58:xx.  Em came in with Jake at about a 2:04:xx which is a 19 min. PR for her!  For real, 19 minutes?!  That's crazy-sauce and she did so awesome.

We hung around afterwards and waited for other peeps to finish, had some chocolate milk, stretched and layed in the grass - it was glorious.



 

 After hanging around for a while we made our slow hobble back to the hotel where we showered and decided a beer was in order.
 





and they were some mighty tall beers!

 

We then made our way to find some food (none of us were super hungry right after the race), and we ended up at a great Mexican place - but lets be honest, after running 13.1 miles, no food and a huge beer, I'm pretty sure we would have eaten ANYTHING.  We got back to the hotel and I'm confident we all PR'ed in lounging, complete with naps and doughnut-eating.  After a few hours we rallied, cranked up the tunes and got ready to go out and meet the group.  We ended up at a bar that had $1.50 beers...what?!  Only in Fargo :)  It was such a blast to just kick back and have fun for the rest of the night.

 

 

 

 



 



The next morning we got up, had some hotel breakfast and said cheers to a good weekend one more time before hitting the road.

 

nothing like champagne in a plastic cup

 

Two years in a row of this being the best day ever?? I would say Fargo is slowing getting the reputation for having the best half marathon - but I'm just a little biased :)

 

 

 

I'll be back with a quick race review, and then it's the final push to MPLS.  Just 3 more weeks!  YIKES!



Things I'm loving Thursday!

Hooray!  I'm back for my favorite type of post.  Here's a list of things I'm currently loving...

 

 

 

*Pharrell Williams - Come Get it Bae....on repeat, 24/7. 

 

 

 

Pharrell, I love you and your Smokey the Bear hat that you wear.

 

 

 

 

*e.l.f Jumbo Lip Gloss Stick

 

my hand looks ginormous!

 

I first heard of e.l.f products a few months ago from a makeup blogger that I watch on You Tube.  They are incredibly inexpensive and surprisingly good quality for a drugstore option. But up until recently none of my local drug stores carried the brand.  A few weeks ago though I spotted a display at my Target.  Hooray!  I grabbed a few items like brushes, an eyelash curler, eye shadow pallet and these awesome lip crayons.  They glide on super smooth and aren't at all thick or sticky.  I like how they are in the crayon shape to keep application fool-proof.  I chose a nude shade in 'In the Nude' and a pinky shade in 'Pink Umbrellas'.  I don't wear a ton of color on my lips so I like that these are subtle enough to wear for daytime but you can layer them up for more color.  I think they were like $2 each so if you get a chance to try them, you should! 

 

*Vasque Grand Traverse

 

 

The company I work for manufactures this brand and a few weeks ago my department had a meeting about the new styles for this year, and the Grand Traverse was one of them.  As soon as I saw it I knew I needed to get a pair.  I don't do a ton of hiking, so I knew I didn't want your typical hiking boot, and this one is perfect for what I was looking for.  It is designed to perform more like an approach shoe (hence the laces going all the way to the toe like a rock climbing shoe), and to be able to hike over a mix of terrain (ex. slick rock, wet/dry trails, ect.).  The other thing I love about them is that they are casual and comfortable enough to wear as everyday shoes.  Plus they came in my favorite color :)

 

*Spring nail polish colors

 

 

I kind of made a pact with myself that I would start to look like an adult, so I figured it was time to keep up with the beauty trends.  First step was new nail polish.  The goal here is to paint them often enough so I don't walk around with ugly chipped nails like I used to, and with fun colors like these it makes it really easy!  There are a TON of fun spring colors out right now, and I picked up two of my favorites a few weeks ago.  I love them, and plan on getting a few more as we go into summer.  So now at least my nails will look good when I decide to wear sweatpants all day.

 

 

* RIP fitness class

 

After some convincing from a friend (Hi Sam!!), I finally tried this class at my gym, and verdict is....I LOVE it!  I've been pretty good about doing strength workouts on my own, but this class forces me to do an hour of it two days a week.  After my first class my arms were shaking so bad I had a hard time washing my hair the next day!  I've been going twice a week for the past 2 weeks and its a great addition to my workouts.  Plus the music makes me want to dance :)

 

 

So that's is for my favorites this week!  I'll check in after this weekend - hope you guys have a great one!!

 

 

crawling out from under my rock....

Holy smokes!  It's been a long time since I've been here. Turns out when things arent going my way I throw a tantrum and crawl in a hole.  I was on such a roll too.....oh well, such if life.  I do owe you guys a recap of my last race, but I'll warn you now, it's wasnt a great day, and to be honest, I've had a rough couple of weeks dealing with some stupid injuries.

 

But I'm not here to talk about that, I'm here to talk about FARGO!!!

 

 

 

As I've mentioned before I'm headed back up to Fargo this weekend to run the half marathon.  I'm super excited about this because I'm running with one of my bestest friends.

 

 

Hi Em!

 

I'm going to help pace her for the race and I just know shes going to crush it!  Plus its the 10th Anniversary of the Fargo Marathon, so it's just going to be one big, running party!  I'm just hoping that with my lack of running lately I dont get left in the dust, but even if I do, I'll have about 20,000 of my friends to run with :)

 

We are heading up Friday afternoon to check out the expo and get our packets.  I'll take pics a long the way, and if it's anything like last year, it should be a blastie, although, those are some big shoes to fill :)

 

oh, and speaking of shoes, I got some sparly new ones!

 

Wave Sayonara!

Although, it might be a good thing I'm not running as much right now, because they are a lighter than the Wave Riders and more of a "race" shoe, they will take some getting used to, so I'm trying to ease my way into them.  My plan is to have them as my race shoe for MPLS in June.

 

 

 

Ok, thats all from me for now.  Oh!, and if any of you are going to be up running Fargo let me know.  I'll be representing TNC in my bright pink!

 

 

 

 

15 miles of observations

Hey guys, happy weekend!  

Ok, I just had to pop in and tell you a few things I observed this morning on my run.  It was raining and lighting outside so I took to the treadmill for my workout.  15 miles with tempo thrown in for fun....well, my coach would probably call it "fun"  I call it "my legs wanting to fall off".  Anyway, this gave me lots of time to think and here's what I came away with 2 hours later

* there is nothing on TV early in the morning

* if you are on the treadmill next to me and you wonder if we're in a race?  the answer is yes....always yes....and I win

* by the end of your run your tank top will be a completely different, darker color.  Which if fun cause its kind of like a wardrobe change, but also really gross since you're all sweaty and probably smell bad

* don't sing out loud when your jam comes on your Ipod, its really embarrassing

* this was my jam that I listened to on repeat like 82 times

* I was clearly delirious when I thought to myself at mile 5 "oh only 10 more miles, that's not bad at all!"  again....I was on a treadmill...delirious.

* since when did cut-off tee shirts become acceptable gym attire?

*mile 13 all I thought about was a doughnut....I never got a doughnut

*make sure to hang onto the side of the treadmill when you finally stop to get off...surprisingly your legs will be tired, and wont function normally.  Try to act cool as you hobble out of the gym

and oh look!  my glass is almost empty....have a great rest of your weekend!

Things that make me happy - part 2

It's Thursday!! Oh my word, I could not be more happy that the weekend is almost here.  I have some fun plans and just want to get them started!

 

 

Ok, so remember about 2 months ago I did a post on some things that make me happy?  Well I decided to do it again....maybe I'll make this a regular thing, who knows.  So lets get to it!

 

 

*Key Word Searches

 

When I was checking the stats of my blog the other day I came across the keyword searches people do that lead them to my blog. Makes me wonder what they were actually hoping to find...here's a couple examples.

 

  - 1 year recipe:  if you are looking for a recipe that takes that long it better be good, which means you probably wont find it here, that or you clearly have too much time on your hands.

 

- naked old men: oh dear, you have come to the wrong place.  if you are searching for that you have another bag of issues to deal with.

 

- I'm done running, oh look another race:  this totally make sense, and make me giggle.  It's so typical of a runner to think this way :)

 

 

*Spring/Summer Clothes

This weekend I plan on getting out all my Spring/Summer clothes and put away most of my cold weather stuff.  It's kind of like shopping, I always forget what I have until I bring them back out again.  Although the TOMS have been out for a little while :)

 

*My Favorite Running Trail

One of my favorite paths is finally clear enough to run on and I am SO happy.  Seriously, I ran on it yesterday, with some of my favorite tunes, and was happy the whole time.  Plus it was like 70 degrees, which was AWESOME.

honestly, don't even try to beat that view because you cant

*How I Met Your Mother

I know the series is over, so I'm 9 years late to join this party, but I've started watching this show on Netflix.  I started at the beginning with season 1 and have been binge watching it since Sunday.  Even though I know how it all ends, I think its hilarious and am totally loving it.

*Honorable Mentions

So I mentioned this weekend that I have some fun plans, and I do!  Saturday night some friends are having a party to celebrate the new house they bought.  I haven't seen a lot of these folks in way to long and am excited to get together with everyone. 

Then Sunday I'm even more excited because its the first Run N Fun team meeting of the season that night.  I'm excited to meet everyone and pick up a uniform and some other things.  It's at their newest store in MPLS so I'm excited to see the place.

 

 



just one of those runs

Hey guys, happy Tuesday!

 

How was everyone's weekend?  Mine was pretty wonderful.  I ran (per usual), had WAY to much fun, and ate a doughnut....pretty successful in my book :)

 

I will dream about this doughnut forever....

 

 

I just wanted to pop in quick to ramble some thoughts from my run yesterday.  Not sure what it was, but yesterday was just one of those days where I was thinking way too much, and it wasn't doing me any good.  Ever have that?  When you just cant seem to turn your brain off?  I had a bigger workout planned, and when I finally got off work, I was ready to just hit the pavement.

 

Now, I know there are plenty of people who use exercise as "therapy", but I never have.  It just isn't one of those things for me.  Sure it always makes me feel better, but that's usually because, well, who wouldn't feel better after they workout?!  Anyway, I turned on one of my "angry" Pandora stations (well, as angry as Fall Out Boy and old school Blink 182 can get).  As I was going along with my "head movies", I realized a lot of what was may be bugging me, or thinking WAY to much about, were starting to make more sense, and I just started to feel better the more I ran.  I was glad I had some harder tempo stuff in the middle of my run, as a distraction - too much thinking isn't always a good thing, but to also push some of my frustrated thoughts out.

 

I ended my run with a lot more peace than when I started, and turns out, it feels pretty good.  So for all of you that use running as alone time with your thoughts or who run to clear the cobwebs in your head, I get it, I totally get it.

 

Oh good lord, I'm such a drama queen, sorry I force you to follow me down the depths of my brain sometimes...

FOR REAL!

 



Irish Run race recap

Happy Thursday!

 

How's every one's week going? Mines going dandy over here, and I'm back with my race recap and thoughts from the 8k last Sunday.

 



Jake and I got to the race with plenty of time to spare.  My biggest concern was having time to go to the bathroom so I didn't have a repeat of last year (SPOILER ALERT - I managed to NOT pee my pants this time, not sure if that's a "win" or not....).  We got to the school, got our bibs and headed out for our warm up, 2 miles.  It was really nice because everyone was out doing their respective warm ups too, so it was nice to be around everyone while they were still nice, and not in competition-mode.  I actually felt pretty decent during the warm up, my legs felt ok, and my right ankle (which I've been having issued with) felt really good.  We milled around a little bit then it was time to line up. 

My pacing plan was to go out with the first mile at about 6:45 (the first mile is downhill), and then settle into a 7 min/just above pace for the rest of the race.  Jake was nice enough to pace me so I just told myself to stick with him the best I could.  In my head, these paces didn't seem too bad, but then again, I'm always so clueless for the first race of the season.  We started out, and I had Jake tell me my mile splits each time.  First mile was 7:01.  Not what I was expecting, and I was just hoping to hold on. 

The course for this race is kind of tough, and there was quite a bit of headwind in some parts.  The reason the course is tough is because from about mile 2-3 and about 3-4 there is a slow, gradual incline.  The kind you cant really see when looking at it, but can definitely feel when your running up them.  Jake kept calling them "false" hills.....they were very real my friends.

I started to feel myself slipping going up that first incline, but still felt good enough to hold the pace.  Once we got to the top I tried my best to relax and stay loose.  We got to mile 3 and I asked Jake the total time, which was about a 21:3X.  I wanted to try and come close to or beat my 5k time from last year (which was a 21:35), so I felt pretty good about this.  I was really starting to fade at about mile 3.5.  my legs just HURT.  We started the last incline and it was right into the wind.  I tried to go behind Jake but that made me fall further behind.  I tried to just do my best and stick with it. 

The one good thing about the course is that the finish is downhill, and once I got to the top, to start going down, I just did whatever I could to push myself in.  There was a woman ahead of me that I really wanted to beat, and I dug in and made it around her.  I go to that finish line and about died!  I really feel like I used up whatever I had left at the finish, which is a win in my book.  Jake told me he's never seen me take off like that at the end.

 

 

 

left: after the race, top right: just about mile 2, bottom right: coming to the finish

 

 



I do have to say that even though my legs were hurting and I probably could have relaxed a little more, this race went so much better than last year mentally.  I don't think I was super positive during the race, but I also didn't let it get to me.  I pushed myself when I could and accepted that it was hard.  I still have some work to do, and speed-wise I have A LOT of work to do, but I was proud of myself for just staying in each mile and not thinking about how far I have left.  I didn't let the people who passed me get me upset and focused on my race.  Also, like I said, I didn't pee my pants, so a success!

Saw Rael on my cool down!  Another TNC athlete!

 

 

After the race we chatted with my mom and Paul for a bit (they came up to cheer, which was awesome!), then we did our cool down, another 2 miles - total of 9 for the day.  The we went out in search of food, we were starving and we ended up at Panera Bread. 

 

 

Thai chicken salad and black bean soup, yum!

All in all, this was a good race to start the season, but I'm really excited for my next one to see where my 5k time is at.  I am really hoping I can start out with a sub-21, that would put me ahead of where I was last year and would be a major confidence booster.  I'm hoping the 8k shook out some race nerves and I'll be a little more relaxed for the next.  Sometimes it just takes that first race to get rid of the 'cobwebs" :).

 

Alright, that's all for me folks, have a great rest of your day!

 

 

not this year my friends, not this year

calling all runners!!

Hey!  So I know I said I would be back with a race recap, and I will, but I wanted to share some fun info first!

 

In May my coach is hosting a training camp through her running team, TNC Endurance.  I will be going for sure, and I wanted to post up the info here in case any of you are interested in coming.  It will be an awesome weekend full of running (duh), good food, new friends, and lots of laughs and stories I'm sure.  Check out the info poster below...

 

 

 

 

I'm super pumped for this, and I know it will be such a great learning experience.  So if you are currently a runner, training for a race, looking for a potential coach/race team, or just love running and think this sounds like a good fit, then get in contact with Nichole.  She's one of the nicest people I know and is an amazing coach and runner.

 

Run happy friends!

 



Irish Run results and race review

Good morning and happy Monday!!

Ok, wanted to post up my results from the race yesterday and give a quick review of the event. I'll do another post with pictures and my race recap/thoughts....I've got plenty!

Alright, results......

I'm saving my thoughs on this for the next post :)

Race reciew:

This was my second year doing this race, and my first time racing the 8k.  This race is, for a lot of MN runners, the kick off to racing season.  There are always a lot of really good, fast runners that do the 8k, so its pretty competative, but it's also a race for you to gauge where you are at at the end of winter running.  There are also a lot of running teams at this race as well. Run N Fun, Mill City Running, Twin Cities Track Club, and probably a couple others that I'm forgetting.  This is also one of the races in the team circuts so a lot of people run it for that reason too.

Even though this race has been around for a LONG time, it's still very low key and casual.  Nothing super facny, but it's a very well-run race.  The race started and finished from Ramsey Middle School, so they opened the gym to hang out in before and after the race.  Since the weather was cold, this was a nice option. 

The start/finish were just outside the school so it literally took 5 seconds to line up.  For the most part there was plenty of room, but at the start it did get a little crowded, nothing bad, and it opened up right away.  The race couse was well marked, and there were plenty of police officers blocking roads so it felt really secure.  They did a good job of marking corners that were icy as well, which I appreciated.

Crowd support was pretty good, lots of people cheering at the end, and quite a few out on the course.  The course is really spectator-friendly with lots of places to watch.

The only gripe I have (and its not even a "gripe) but since the location is near a busy neighborhood, there arent a lot of options for parking, especially if you are running the 8k, since that is the last race, most of the closer spots are taken.  Jake and I parked about 3 blocks away from the school, which isn't bad, just something to note if you decide to run, you'll want to leave some time for finding a parking spot and walking a little bit.  Also, in the finishers chute, they were giving away bottles of Propel.  I hate this stuff.  I think its super syrupy and not something I want to drink right after a race.  I think it would have been better to give normal water at the finish, and have the Propel/sports drink inside with the rest of the post-race food.  Plus it was frozen.  It was already 20 degrees out, the last thing I wanted was a frozen bottle of water.  But really, if those are the two main issues, I would say this race is pretty well run.

Another thing I appreciated about this race was that they collected any worn (but not worn out) shoes to be donated.  I rounded up three pairs of old shoes to donate.  Cleared room in my closet and went to people in need - win win.

All in all, I think this is a just a good old fashioned fun race to kick off the season.  They have a 5k, kids races, and the 8k, so there really is something for everyone. 

Ok, enough from me.  I'll be back with pictures and my recap later :)

Racing season has begun and some FUN news!

Hiya buddies!  Happy Thursday!  This week seems to be flying by and can't beleive it's almost the weekend - I'm not complianing though :)

 

 

Ok, let's get down to business.  Racing season has officially started (for me), and I have my first race this Sunday - yikes!  Jake and I will be making our way back to St Paul to run the St Paul Irish Race.  Jake and I ran this last year, he ran the 8k and I did the 5k, and if you can remember, it didn't go so hot for me.  I'm hoping to redeem myself this year, and I'll also make sure to go to the bathroom before I start.

 

However, I'm doing things a little differently this year and won't be running the 5k, and will instead race the 8k.  This is kind of an odd distance, and had never heard of it in a race until the Irish Run, so I'm a little nervous.  I've talked over some pacing strategies with my coach, so that makes me feel a little better.  I'm trying not to overthink things, and in Nichole's words "I'M NOT ALLOWED TO FREAK OUT!".  So that might be my mantra, dont freak out, dont freak out...

 

 

Normally, I probably would race the 5k, but the real reason I'm racing the 8k is because....drumroll......I'm on the Run N Fun race team!!  This race is part of the team circut, and being on the team you have to do at least 2 circut races during the year (you can obviously do more, but its required to race two). 

 

I cannot tell you how blown away I was when I found out I was on the team.  Let me tell you, this team is FAST, and the open Women's division consistantly run sub 17, 18, 19 5k times, so the fact that they let a slow poke like me on the team is amazing, and I'm super grateful.  I know I have the potential to get my times down, and am glad they believe in me too.  This just gives me an extra incentive to work my BUTT off in training and hopefully have it show in my races. 

I have my first team meeting with the group sometime in April, so will share more info with you then.  But this is a very exciting way to start my 2014 season.  How luck am I to be a part of not one, but TWO awesome running teams?!

So that's my exciting (to me) news!  I'm excited to meet some of my teammates this weekend at the race, and hopefully I'll get some tips on how to be fast :)

So Sunday will kick off a few good months of races, here's what I've got on tap:

3/23 St. Paul Irish Run 8k
4/16 MPLS Hot Chocolate 5k
5/3 Nick Clare Memorial 5k
5/9 Fargo Half Marathon (running this just for fun with a friend - Hi Emily!!)
6/1 MPLS Half Marathon (goal race!!)

So if you are thinking about doing any races this spring, check these out, and let me know if you'll be there!  Have a great rest of your day peeps!







Clean Gut update and after thoughts

Happy Tuesday all!

 

 

I just wanted to pop back in and chat about my Clean Gut  experience one last time.  You can read more about the reason I started this program here and a previous update here.  I officially "ended" the program a couple weeks ago, but in all honesty, I've kind of just keep going as I was.  I'm a bit more lenient on the weekends in what I will eat, but the only difference is that now, I'm make a conscious decision on what I will/wont eat. Whereas before, I would just eat things because I wanted to, if I was bored, or because I felt like I could - "oh I ran 10 miles, sure I'll eat that pan of brownies" or "sure I'll have bread and pasta and crackers because - carb loading!!".  I now make a conscious decision if I'm going to have gluten, dairy, sugar because I know how it effects me and makes me feel.  If I decide I'm fine with feeling a little crummy for the sake of hanging out with friends or some delicious pizza, then don't get in my way cause I'll demolish it

exhibit A from the weekend - Jake and I split a large pizza...I ate half of it...don't judge :)

But the biggest difference in this, is the fact that I feel so much less "guilty".  Before if I would have eaten that much pizza, even though yes I did run a lot that day, I would still feel bad about it.  But now, I eat it, enjoy it, and move on.  My mindset in regards to food has changed quite a bit, and knowing exactly how I feel when I eat certain things is enough now to keep me from them...most of the time :)

I still avoid dairy, gluten, and sugar during the week, and have kind of fallen into a pattern of allowing myself these things on the weekends if I choose.  Most of the time I still eat clean, because it makes me feel good, not because I feel like I have to.  I no longer feel the need to eat clean to "make up" for a weekend of junk, it's just become normal to me.

Don't get me wrong, it was tough at first, and I had my days where all I wanted was a bag of tortilla chips and queso for dinner and wash it down with a bag of Oreos, but I knew better, and knowing better got me to the point I'm at now.

There are so many things that have changed for me since I started this new way of eating, but the biggest one I've noticed is in my energy levels.  I used to always be tired/sluggish in the mornings, and again in the afternoons - which contributed largely to my lack of motivation which resulted in skipped workouts.  After changing things up, there are no more peaks and valleys in my energy.  It's at a constant all day.  I never feel that spike and crash like I did before.  It's like my body has just evened itself out, which feels great.  I never knew what it would feel like to be on an even level all day, and I honestly didn't notice it changed until I sat and thought about it.  The other big thing for me was that my skin has cleared up.  I used to break out every other week or so, and in these past 5 weeks I have noticed my skin is clearer and brighter.  Not great, but I don't stress out about breakouts anymore, and that makes me happy :)

Ok, before this gets any longer than it has to, I'll wrap it up.  If you have any interest in the Clean Gut book or program, feel free to comment or email me with questions.  I have so much more I could talk about but for the sake of keeping things short, I'll stop here.  This program has completely changed the way I look and think about food (In a good way!), and has made me feel so much better that I don't think I could go back to the way I was eating before, to much good has come of this to do that.

aaaaand with that I'm done rambling!  Have a great rest of the day friendlies!





I'm officially "that person" at the gym...

Hey guys! Happy Saturday!

 I know it's been awhile since I've checked in.  This week has been really busy.  I started a new job at the company I work for so it's been a little hectic trying to adjust.  It's exciting though. So I just haven't had a ton of extra time to blog or reply to emails and stuff - hopefully going to clean that up over the weekend.

I wanted to do a quick training recap for this week because... I'm at my first 50+ mile week of this training cycle!! I don't know why that "50" is such an important number to me, but it makes me feel pretty bad ass;). So here's what's been going down this week.

Monday - 2m WU&CD, 5x1mi. tempo (2min recovery), 4x200m cut downs. 10.5 miles total.

 *Tempos are still by HR but my legs just weren't wanting to go very fast today, so they weren't my best times, and the four 200's at the end were the real kicker, I was toast!

 Tuesday - REST thank god

 Wednesday - 4.5 easy

 Thursday - 2m. WU&CD, 4x200m (equal recovery), 3x1k (90% recovery), 2x400m (equal recovery). 10 miles total.

*This kicked my butt, 'nuff said!

 Friday - 6 easy

 Saturday - 15 long run

 Sunday - 4 easy

Today's long run was great, what wasn't great was the temp outside.  I swear this is the coldest winter ever! So when my alarm went off and I saw it was only 1 degree, I said screw that and took my run to the treadmill. I told myself to break it up into 3x5 miles just to makes it easier in my brain - sometimes you gotta play tricks like that. Because I was inside I was totally that weirdo at the gym running for a million years, sweating buckets (my tank was a completely different color by the end - no longer light blue), wearing compression socks and eating GU.  Yep I got some strange looks and yep I had about 5 people ask how far I was going but I like to think I'm working on my mental strength - cause lord knows I'll need it come June when I'm pushing myself for my goal race.

I came home, mixed up some tasty hot apple cinnamon Skratch ( seriously AWESOME stuff - try it, now), and took a lovely ice/snow bath.  This is how to have fun on a Saturday morning, trust me ;)

Oh! I also have some pretty exciting news on the running front, but need to wait a bit to fill you in.  I'll just keep you all in suspense.

OK, that's all for me, hope you all have a great rest of the weekend.  As for me, I'll be stuffing my face with pizza tonight.....hey, I ran 15 miles, I deserve it right?!

Pizza party!

Things I'm loving

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

and

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I thought in the spirit of the day, I would keep things fun, and go through a little list of things I am LOVING on this day of love.  Some of these are totally random - well they all kind of are.  But thought it would be fun to share with you guys!

*Caribou Coffee's Hot Cinnamon Spice tea

I tried this for the first time last weekend and it was love at first sip!  I have been thinking about it ever since, and stopped for a cup before work this morning and ended up buying a container of it.  It's like Christmas in a cup and perfect for the cold weather.

*Nivea Creme

I recieved this hand cream in my Christmas stocking from my mom this year and have been using it everyday since then.  My hands get SUPER dry, especially in the winter and this has been a lifesaver.  A little goes a long way and I'm not even half way through this little pot.

*My Skratch Labs Nalgene bottle

I placed an order for Skratch stuff last week, and one thing I made sure to include was this Nalgene.  In an effort to stay hydrated and drink more water, this baby is super helpful.  I'm trying to drink two of these during the work day, having this cool bottle makes it easy.

*Flowers from my Valentine 

Jake sure knows the way to my heart!  Now, I have nothing against roses, but I always prefer something different if I'm going to get flowers, and my guy came through.  Plus they just happen to be from the best flower shop in town.

*Chocolate :)

Being it is Valentine's I just had to include some chocolate.  A coworker gave one to me, and it just happend to be dark chocolate - my fav!  Don't ask my why I haven't eaten it yet, I probably should.....

So thats all for this Friday!  I'm looking forward to my date tonight (Melting Pot, yum!) and my long run tomorrow (15, yikes!)  Hope everyone has a wonderful love-filled day!

Training update, a fashion tip, and new shoes!

Hello and happy Tuesday!

How is everyone?  I'm happy 'cause it's Valentine's week and I have a hot date on Friday that I'm looking forward to :)



But instead of hot dates, let's talk about some training!  I'm a few weeks into my "official" race training and I feel like things are finally starting to come together, and slowly but surely I'm making improvements.  With about 15 weeks until my goal race, I'm starting to feel like I do have a good chance of hitting my goals.  At the beginning of the year, I wasn't so sure.  But with that, let me recap a few training things.

January was really all about getting things back on track, and getting my consistancy back.  I know it's no surprise that I struggled with motivation earlier this year, and so that first month we just worked on keeping my workouts consistant.  It helped SO much, and I feel like I'm back on the wagon!  After some talking with Nichole about how to move forward in Feb., it was decided that I should NEED to start doing some speedwork, so welcome to the world of painful 200's, 400's, and 1000m repeats, oh how quickly I forgot how much those hurt.  But, no pain no gain, and I've started to see improvements, and compared to this time last year, I'm about 10-15 seconds ahead of where I was, so that again gives me the confidence that come June 1st, I'll be ready to rock and roll.  I'm also starting to see my tempo paces come down.  I'm still only going my heart rate for those, as to not get discouraged by a "slower" pace, but I'm finding I need to speed up more and more to keep my HR in the right zone.

So with all that, here's what I'm got this week, with a total mileage of 48

Mon - 1.5 WU&CD. 10x400m (1:29-1:31) w/equal rest. 8 miles total

           Strength

Tues. - REST

Wed. - 5 miles easy

Thurs. - 2 WU&CD. 4x200, 2x400, 1x800, 2x400, 4x200 w/equal rest. 9 miles total

             Strength

Fri. - 5 miles easy

Sat. - 15 miles eay (YIKES!)

Sun. - 6 miles easy

My long run on Saturday will be my longest yet.  I might request some company for this, so if anyone wantes to join me for some it would be much appreciated. I dont care if its only for a mile, it will help :) 

I keep joking with Nichole that I think she's secretly training me for a marathon :)

_______________________________________________________________

Oh, and if you ever find yourself without gym socks, no worries, just hike up your "business" socks and get to work! Trust me on this one, people will be real jealous of how cool you are....



so sexy


and one last shoe pic because it's just such a wonderful sight.  Got these beauties over the weekend at Gear Running Store up in Edina, MN. 

cute cute cute Wave Riders!

my drink of choice

I told you guys I would be back, but this time with some slightly more exciting info!

Ok, so I know there are tons of you runners, bikers, mountian climbers, ice dancers, ect. out there and one of your main concerns is probably hydration right?  I know for me personally I'm pretty particular to what I'm able to stomach before, during and after a workout.  I know a lot of you also have a preference on what you like the best, and what you hate, I know I do (I'm looking at you sugary Poweraide!).  I've tried a lot of things, and up until a year ago, would just choose plain water over other sports drinks.  Most of them are just too sweet and sugary for me, and left me craving plain water just to wash it down.  But about a year ago I discovered my perfect drink!

Enter in Skratch Labs. I disovered it when I was needing something besides water for after my workouts, and a friend of ours who owned the local bike shop had Skratch for sale.  I tried a few packets out and instantly fell in love.  It wasnt sugary-syrupy like other sports drinks, it was nice and light, almost like just a flavored water.  But you guys, the flavors of these are awesome, it tastes like ACTUAL fruit, and not something artificial.  Thats probably because there isnt anything fake in these.  Thats why I love 'em. They have ingredients I can pronounce, use only real fruit and has less calories and more electrolytes.

Now this isnt some sponsored plug for these guys, and I would rave about them anyway, but as luck would have it, last December I saw a Tweet go out from Skratch that they were looking for "Taste Agents" to represent their brand.  I thought "Hey, I love this stuff, and it cant hurt to apply", so I did.  I knew they were going to choose towards the end of January, and when I got home from my run on Saturday I had a sweet email waiting for me - I was picked to be an official Taste Agent for 2014!  I am totally surprised because I never win anything, but totally honored to help represent them.

Full disclosure though, I am NOT getting paid to write any of this, the links I provide are NOT affiliate links so I am not earning compensation from you clicking them, and I do not recieve anything from having any readers purchase their stuff.  I do however recieve select discounted items and if I ever recieve anything for free or to review I will make sure to disclose that on here.

That being said, its also Skratch Labs 2nd birthday and they are having a massive sale on their website.  So if you wanted to try their stuff, now's a good time to buy.

So there you have it, I'm super psyched and am happy to help spread the good word!

Clean Gut check in!

Good morning and happy Monday!

How was every one's weekend?  Good?  Hope so!  Mine was pretty darn nice.  It involved lots of running, hanging with friends, and relaxing, and in my opinion (not that it's worth much) those 3 things make for a pretty darn good time.

Ok, so I haven't mentioned the Clean Gut program since last time I was here, but I just started my 3rd week so I wanted to pop in and let you know how things are going. As I mentioned before I was going to try really hard to be super prepared and make these changes as easy as possible, and I have to say, a little prep and thought make all the difference.  I will share a few of my favorite recipes from the book in a later post, but I have to say that everything I've made as turned out awesome! But before that, I'll go back.  The first week wasn't too bad, but I did find that on Tuesday-Wednesday of the first and 2nd week I found myself hungrier than normal.  Nothing too bad, but it was something I noticed (wonder why those days??).  Also, due to the fact that I would rather not lock myself in my house and would like to have a life, I have kind of told myself that I will just do the best I can.  My first weekend on the program, we went up north, and while I did my best, I did end up eating gluten, dairy and sugar on Saturday night and Sunday for lunch.  Not that this is horrible, but the biggest thing I noticed was when I woke up the next day I just felt lazy, unmotivated and kind of cranky.  I didn't want to go for my run, and when I did, my stomach hated me for it! (Note - I haven't had ANY stomach issues while on this program, which is a HUGE deal for me).  I got back to normal once we got home and by the end of the 2nd week felt much better again. 

This weekend we had friends over for homemade pizza ( I made a cauliflower crust pizza for mine) and a somewhat belated birthday for me.  Jake was nice enough to get a cake and there was no way I was going to turn that down!  Life is too short!  So I made the decision to have a piece, and wouldn't you know it, I woke up on Sunday feeling crabby (could have been the result of sugar, or maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed), but I could tell there was something off.  I made it to the gym and felt better once I left.  Last night we went to a friends house to watch the Superbowl, and again, I'm not going to just hold up in my house because I might not be able to eat everything, but I just did the best I could, and was able to still enjoy myself and for the most part avoided sugar, dairy and most gluten.  Although, our friend made the BEST guacamole and I couldn't resist having some with tortilla chips, it was totally worth it cause it was awesome!  Although I do feel a little but "puffy" in my stomach today, and I'm sure my run might involve a bathroom break, but who know, maybe I'll be fine.  This is all part of this process of figuring out what foods are effecting me, and what will make me feel the best.

I have already noticed a few changes too.  Now, I don't actually think I've lost any weight, but that wasn't really the point of this, I also don't have a scale either so who knows!  But all I know is that I feel better, my stomach feels "flatter" and less bloated, my energy levels are becoming more even - I no longer am tired in the morning, and don't go through my "3:00pm slump" like I used too.  I wouldn't say I have more energy, I just feel like my levels are now consistent all day, which is really nice.  I also cant say that I'm sleeping better, but I no longer wake up 2-3 times a night, so I guess that counts for something.

All in all this is working really well for me.  I'm learning a lot each day, and really paying attention to how I feel.  I have learned to really enjoy vegetables, and am learning new ways to cook things.  So this is the last week of the "elimination" portion of the program (meaning I have cut out all gluten, dairy and sugar for 3 weeks), and next week I will start to slowly add in each of those items to find out what, if any, are effecting me.

In the book they say that your gut acts like your second brain, and it really does.  What you eat effects so much more that what you think, and how your gut functions effects so much of how you feel in daily life, its kind of amazing, and I look forward to learning more and continuing  with this process.

Wow, riveting stuff right??  If you made it to the end, congrats? Kind of boring I know, but lucky for you I'm going to be back later today with some super exciting news!!!  

Have a great morning!